Why Jeremiah Wright Matters — Still, Part II

Once upon a time, analysts, pundits and historians explored the relationship between a given subject and his father. We do so for possible insight into the subject’s values, character, decision-making process, biases, interests, fears, etc. You know — acorn, tree.

But the standard intellectual inquiry, for some reason, does not apply to the long, intimate relationship between Barack Obama and the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who called himself a “second father” to young Barack.

Sen. Obama described his 20-year relationship with his pastor this way: “What I value most about Pastor Wright is not his day-to-day political advice. He’s much more of a sounding board for me to make sure that I am speaking as truthfully about what I believe as possible and that I’m not losing myself in some of the hype and hoopla and stress that’s involved in national politics.” Indeed, Obama describes a relationship that is closer, far closer than the relationship that many sons have with their fathers.

Leftist New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd confidently places the actions, policies and decisions of George W. Bush at the feet of his father. Dowd insists, for example, that George W. Bush’s decision to invade Iraq was Dad-driven. She called the Iraq War “a Freudian tango” that provided a “chance for W. to complete his transformation from the screwup son to the son who fixed his father’s screwups.” None of that fear of chemical or biological attack in the wake of 9/11 national security stuff for Dowd. No, it’s all about Dad.

In a recent column comparing blue-blooded “patricians” Bush-41 and Mitt Romney, Dowd writes, “Their political philosophies were not shaped by a passion for ideas as much as a desire to serve and an ambition to climb higher than their revered fathers. Pragmatism trumps ideology; survival trumps conviction. Both men, to the manner born in Greenwich and Bloomfield Hills, adapted uncomfortably to the fundamentalist tent meeting mood of the modern GOP, knowing their futures depended on Faustian deals with the right.”

But Obama and Wright’s relationship tells us nothing.

In a column about presidential aspirants and their fathers, Dowd puts the Bush and Romney quartet on the couch: “American politics bristles with Oedipal drama. Sons struggling to live up to fathers. Sons striving to outdo fathers. Sons scheming to avenge fathers. Sons burning to one-up fathers. Sons yearning to impress fathers who vanished early on.

Sons leaning on fathers. Sons using fathers as reverse-play books. …”It’s daunting, so soon after ‘Junior’ Bush crashed the Bush family station wagon into the globe in an effort to both avenge and outshine his dad, to gear up for another Republican presidential candidate (Mitt Romney) whose resume copies his famous Republican father and whose relationship with dad sculpts his outlook.”

Obama’s camp is going to do this and if Romney is sharp enough and has the balls, he should too. Fight fire with fire.

KKKK

"pastor" Wright has heavily infulenced osama-obams thinking. both are heavily anti-White, anti-Evanglical, anti-America, and anti-Israel. the former pastor has even supproted "the Global March to jerusaelm."

fiddler

Time to take the gloves off. Time to get a little "mean". Republicans, shamed and labeled by the media are afraid of offending anyone. The economy is the issue, but we have to smear the "egg" of double-standards all over the leftist media's face. I recall the "angel" of the one segment of the old Star Trek series. It was the one where the "angel" was called by the children with powers. What happened was as the truth was repeatedly told to the children, the uglier and uglier the "angel" became. This is our "fair" dispassionate news media. It is time the ugly truth was told REPEATEDLY.

SoCalMike

Republicans are too afraid to attack and fight.
They are uber cowards without a spine.
Romney won't touch the Wright issue with a 10 foot pole.

clarespark

What many persons do not understand is the degree to which MLK Jr. was annexed to black liberation theology as early as the mid-1960s. I wrote about James Cone and company here: http://clarespark.com/2009/10/31/the-offing-of-ma…. It could not be more relevant to the presidential campaign of this year.

wctaqiyya

Of course the rev wright matters. Obama didn't sit in those pews for twenty years for nothing. That is where his world view was shaped in large measure, by that hateful man.

http://RussP.us Russ P.

It is truly sad how the GOP bends over backwards to play by the double-standards dictated by the DNC and the Leftist media.

marios

BHO said back to 2008 that Rev. Wright was his moral beacon, his mentor, his like kind uncle to him for 20 years.
Of course it is matter. After Clinton (not Republicans) revealed ties between BHO and Rev. Wright BHO very soon bought his mentor Reverend silence for $100,000. Actually it is back side of this story that our Pres. betrays everyone if it is benefited himself. He betrayed his uncle, he betrayed our country only ally in ME Israel, he betrayed our allies in Europe Poland and Slovakia to appease Russia.
Of course it is very important issue his ties as all his past as well which he deleted for 2 ML in 2008.
No records about his study in any Univercities, no real birthday certificate, no justification that he was converted to Christianity… It is horrible.

Free4500

The Media is NOT "Biased". The "Media" is bought and paid for and is used to conduct Psychological Warfare Operations against the American people. Look up the definition of "Psychological Warfare" and "PsyWar". Sure, there are biased liberals / marxists in the media. But they in turn were brainwashed and indoctrinated at universities that long ago were taken over by marxists, who disguised themselves as "progressives". Google Yuri Bezmenov, later called Tomas Schuman: he was a KGB defector who described in interviews in the 1980's how the marxists were carrying out plans to infiltrate and destroy America through "ideological subversion". It describes perfectly what is happening now. If we don't learn these things, we are just being suckered and conned. This is all deliberately manipulated.